{"id":5631,"date":"2020-12-10T10:06:23","date_gmt":"2020-12-10T15:06:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=5631"},"modified":"2020-12-10T10:10:25","modified_gmt":"2020-12-10T15:10:25","slug":"tribes-host-dr-fauci-as-covid-19-crisis-continues-in-indian-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2020\/12\/10\/tribes-host-dr-fauci-as-covid-19-crisis-continues-in-indian-country\/","title":{"rendered":"Tribes host Dr. Fauci as COVID-19 crisis continues in Indian Country"},"content":{"rendered":"<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" data-attachment-id=\"5638\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2020\/12\/10\/tribes-host-dr-fauci-as-covid-19-crisis-continues-in-indian-country\/anthonyfauci-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/10\/anthonyfauci-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1707\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-title=\"anthonyfauci\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/10\/anthonyfauci-1024x683.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/10\/anthonyfauci-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"anthonyfauci\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5638\" \/>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">Dr. Anthony S. Fauci is seen at the White House on March 16, 2020. Photo: <a href=https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/whitehouse\/49668784568\/>D. Myles Cullen \/ White House<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n<div class=\"h1-responsive\">Tribes host Dr. Fauci as COVID-19 crisis continues in Indian Country<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"h5-responsive sub\">&#8216;One of the areas that I see it hitting us is the loss of language speakers&#8217;<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"date\">Thursday, December 10, 2020<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"byline\">By <A href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Kevin_Abourezk\">Kevin Abourezk<\/A> <A href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Kevin_Abourezk\"><I aria-hidden=true class=\"fab fa-twitter\"><\/I><\/A><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"source\">Indianz.Com<\/div>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nThe most recognizable public health official in America will visit with leaders from two Lakota tribes in South Dakota next week.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nDr. Anthony Fauci, <a href=https:\/\/www.niaid.nih.gov\/about\/director>director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases<\/a> and the most visible federal expert on the coronavirus, will speak to leaders from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oglalalakotanation.info\/\">Oglala Sioux Tribe<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sioux.org\/\">Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe<\/a> on December 14. The meeting takes place virtually via Zoom, said Kevin Killer, the recently  inaugurated Oglala Sioux president.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nAn organization that conducts health research on the two reservations, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.missouri-breaks.com\/\">Missouri Breaks Industries Research Inc.<\/a> based in Eagle Butte, South Dakota, arranged the virtual meeting, Killer said.  Eagle Butte is based at Cheyenne River.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nHe said he\u2019s hopeful the meeting will give tribal leaders a chance to ask questions of one of the premiere experts on the coronavirus and gain a better understanding of how the <a href=\/covid19\/>coronavirus<\/a> might affect tribal nations in the coming months.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cWe\u2019ll just do a check-in, get an update about where does he see COVID and the impact and all that kind of stuff,\u201d Killer said. \u201cIt\u2019s a unique opportunity to have one of the nation\u2019s leading doctors that\u2019s been working on this issue for the past year-and-a-half sit down and have him prioritize and reach out to the Great Plains.\u201d\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<div class=\" content_cards_card content_cards_domain_www-facebook-com\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"content_cards_image\">\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_image_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/covid19informationOST\/posts\/204636841166495\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/18\/130299563_204636807833165_8880268406339185627_n.jpg\" alt=\"Covid-19 Information for OST\">\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_title\">\n\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_title_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/covid19informationOST\/posts\/204636841166495\">\n\t\t\tCovid-19 Information for OST\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_description\">\n\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_description_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/covid19informationOST\/posts\/204636841166495\">\n\t\t\t<p>Covid-19 Information for OST. 2,712 likes. This page has been created to provide a direct access to the information concerning the COVID-19 virus and the response of the Oglala Sioux Tribe.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_site_name\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.xx.fbcdn.net\/rsrc.php\/y1\/r\/ay1hV6OlegS.ico\" alt=\"www.facebook.com\" class=\"content_cards_favicon\"\/>\t\twww.facebook.com\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nHe said he also hopes to discuss the timeline for when the Oglala Sioux Tribe might receive COVID-19 vaccines. More than 2,100 reservation residents have tested positive for the virus, including 188 active cases as of Wednesday and 38 total deaths.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cIt\u2019s lesser than the surrounding areas, the cases, but we\u2019re still impacted because other states, other municipalities don\u2019t have any mask mandates in place,\u201d Killer said. \u201cIt is affecting us.\u201d\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nSouth Dakota currently has the highest per capita death rate in the country at 18.7 deaths per 100,000 people in the past seven days, and its governor, Kristi Noem, has been criticized by public health officials for refusing to enact a statewide mask mandate.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nKiller said the virus has taken some of his tribe\u2019s most culturally versed elders.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cOne of the areas that I see it hitting us is the loss of language speakers, the loss of knowledge keepers,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is kind of unfortunate that there is that element of it.\u201d\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nHe said the tribe currently isn\u2019t planning any upcoming lockdowns, though he expected to revisit the possibility of future lockdowns after visiting with Dr. Fauci on Monday.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cI\u2019m sure that after we meet with Dr. Fauci we\u2019ll have a better estimate of where we can have that conversation,\u201d he said.\r\n<p><\/p><div class=\"mt-1 mb-1\"><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block; text-align:center;\" data-ad-layout=\"in-article\" data-ad-format=\"fluid\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-8411603009680747\" data-ad-slot=\"6394965691\"><\/ins><script>(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/script><\/div><p><\/p>\r\nAs part of the incoming Joe Biden administration, Dr. Fauci will serve as Chief Medical Adviser on COVID-19 to the Democratic president. He will also remain in his role as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cI\u2019ve seen him take on HIV\/AIDS, H1N1, Ebola, Zika, COVID-19, and every infectious disease in between, over his nearly forty years of service to our country,\u201d Biden said on Tuesday as he prepares to take the highest office in the land. He further described Dr. Fauci as  \u201ctrusted. A truth teller. A patriot.\u201d\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cLike every good doctor, he will tell me what I need to know, not what I want to know,\u201d Biden said during a press conference in Wilmington, Delaware, where he is running his presidential transition.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nDr. Fauci delivered a pre-recorded message at the news conference. He supported Biden&#8217;s call for 100 days of mask-wearing following the January 20, 2021, presidential inauguration. \r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cI have been through many public health crises before, but this is the toughest one we have ever faced as a nation,\u201d said Dr. Fauci. \u201cThe road ahead will not be easy. We have got a lot of hard and demanding work to do in the next year.\u201d\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nAccording to the <a href=https:\/\/www.ihs.gov\/>Indian Health Service<\/a>, a federal agency,  the region that includes South Dakota has been among the hardest hit by the coronavirus. As of December 8, the date for which the <a href=https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/covid19\/2020\/12\/10\/indian-health-service-department-of-health-and-human-services-212\/>most recent data is available<\/a>, 15.4 percent of tests in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ihs.gov\/greatplains\/\">Great Plains Area<\/a> have returned COVID-19 positive in the last seven days.","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lakota leaders continue to see an increase of COVID-19 cases in their territory. 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